Scourge Defender (Paladin Archetype)
The Scourge Defender is a paladin, dedicated to protecting their home cities and temples from all manner of evil creatures that lurk within darkness. Many are driven by not only righteousness, but a seething hatred that has been imparted to them, either by trauma at the hands of a particular creature, or an undeniable call to duty born of dire necessity. Regardless of background, the Scourge Defenders are a wonder to behold when placed face to face against some of Skyholme's most fearsome creatures. The Scourge Defender swears an oath to seek out and destroy their chosen enemies above all others; gaining specialized blessings along the way to aid in their personal crusade. This archetype was inspired by the "Kin Hunter" Paladin archetype written for Fiends Reach, a Living World Campaign Smite Scourge A Scourge Defender gains the capability to rain down retribution on his or her favored enemies with divine aid. Upon gaining the Smite Evil class ability at level 1, the Scourge Defender selects a favored enemy type from the following list: Animal, Construct, Dragon, Fey, Humanoid, Magical beast, Monstrous Humanoids, Humanoids, Ooze, Plant, Undead, Vermin. When the Scourge Defender smites an (evil) chosen enemy, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses. In addition, they gain a +2 Sacred bonus to all Perception / Survival / Knowledge checks related to identifying or tracking their target. However their smites no longer deal bonus damage to outsiders with the evil subtype, evil-aligned dragons, or undead creatures. Every 4 levels after 1st, they may select another Favored Enemy type, to a maximum of 5 creature types at level 20. In all other ways (Including Duration), Smite Scourge functions as Smite Evil This ability alters smite evil. Seething Hatred The heart of a Kin Hunter seethes with a burning resolve, a reservoir of hatred that allows them to push their body to it's absolute limit when engaged in combat versus chosen enemies. At 4th level if the Scourge Defender successfully strikes the target of their smite with a weapon attack, they can choose heal themselves via their own Lay on Hands (Including any Applicable Mercies); without expending a swift action, or a daily use of the ability. This healing cannot exceed the amount of damage the Scourge Defender has taken in the past round, nor be utilized more than once per round. Seething Hatred has it's own separate usage pool from Lay on Hands, and can be utilized a number of times per day equal to 3 + CHA. You cannot opt to spend daily uses of Lay on Hands to utilize Seething Hatred, or vice versa. This replaces channel positive energy. Touch of Purity A Scourge Defender's lay on hands can also inflict Harm upon their favored enemies. This attack is still treated as positive energy, and as such cannot heal undead. Because Lay on Hands already has the capability to harm the undead by default, the Scourge Defender simply becomes more adept at doing so by training to fight the walking dead. If the Scourge Defender has selected Undead as a favored enemy type, they gain a +1 Sacred bonus on damage rolls made to harm Undead with Touch of Purity. This alters lay on hands. Aura of Sanctity At 3rd level, a Scourge Defender gains a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against spells, SLA's, supernatural abilities, and effects from creatures of their chosen enemy type(s). Allies within 10 feet gain 1/2 of this bonus. This ability functions only while the paladin is conscious, not if she is unconscious or dead. This ability replaces aura of courage. Cleansing Flame At 11th level, The Scourge Defender may expend two uses of smite evil when declaring a smite, to ignite their weapon with a cleansing multicolored flame for 1 minute. This flame sheds light as a torch. Favored enemies within 20 feet of the flame take a –2 penalty on attack rolls and saving throws against the Scourge Defender and their allies. In addition, all allies within 20 feet of the flame gain a +2 sacred bonus on attack rolls vs the Defender's favored enemies, and a +2 bonus to saving throws vs their Spells / SLA / Supernatural / Effects. This ability replaces aura of justice. Cleansing Fury At 20th level, a Scourge Defender becomes a molten furnace of seething hatred towards their evil foes. Their DR from Aura of Righteousness increases to 10/evil, and they heal for the maximum amount whenever utilizing Lay on Hands to heal a creature. In addition, whenever they use smite evil and successfully strike a favored enemy for the first time, the creature must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the paladin’s level + the paladin’s Charisma modifier) or be subject to a Disintegrate spell on hit, using the paladin's HD in place of caster level. If a creature is subject to the disintegration effect, they cannot be affected by it again for another 24 hours. If the weapon attack that applies the disintegration effect is a critical hit (And successfully confirms) the DC for the fortitude save increases by +4. This ability replaces holy champion. Category:Class